Daijiworld Media Network – Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Dec 2: Israel’s policy in Syria has lost direction and is fuelling growing hostility among Syrians, warned noted Syria researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who spoke to The Jerusalem Post in her first extensive analysis since her release from captivity. Tsurkov, a Princeton doctoral scholar and fellow at the New Lines Institute in Washington, said Israel’s escalating military actions, including last week’s deadly raid in Beit Jinn, reflect a lack of long-term planning and a failure to define the purpose of its presence in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime.
Tsurkov, who spent over a decade studying Syria and was kidnapped by Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq in 2023 before being freed in 2025 after 900 days in captivity, said the Israeli establishment has not articulated what kind of political order it hopes to see emerge in Damascus, nor what ties it seeks to build with the new government now led by Ahmed al-Sharaa. She said the absence of clarity has translated into operations that anger local communities, including those that once depended on Israel for survival.
Tensions escalated after the IDF conducted a night raid in Beit Jinn to apprehend suspects linked to the Jaama Islamiya group. Israeli soldiers came under fire, leaving two reserve officers and a reservist seriously injured. The IDF struck the village heavily in response, prompting fears of further confrontation with the new Syrian leadership. The raid has shaken Beit Jinn, once among the most pro-Israel communities in southern Syria. During the Assad-era siege, Israel had supplied humanitarian assistance, treated civilians in its hospitals, and backed local opposition factions. One of the Syrians killed in the recent raid had previously belonged to a faction supported by Israel, highlighting the dramatic reversal in relations. Tsurkov said the shift is a direct result of Israel changing its posture — from assisting the population to launching raids that damage livelihoods, forcing even those once friendly to view Israel as an occupying force.
She rejected Israeli claims that Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and his movement, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, are jihadists. She said the group abandoned hardline Islamist principles years ago, purged extremists, softened its governance, avoided enforcing strict religious rules, and aligned itself with pragmatic regional interests. She added that the new Syrian leadership is primarily focused on maintaining stability and would avoid any confrontation with Israel that could undermine its rule. The United States appears to share this view, with CENTCOM recently announcing joint operations with Damascus to target ISIS cells across Syria.
Tsurkov warned that Israel’s current approach is manufacturing the very threat it claims to be preventing. According to her, Syrians tolerated the Israeli presence for months despite economic strain and arrests, but recent operations have triggered anger that could evolve into a local resistance movement. She said the area has been left in a security vacuum because Israel has barred the Syrian government from deploying forces near the border and insisted the region remain demilitarized, creating conditions for instability.
Talks on a potential security agreement between Israel and Damascus remain stalled, and Tsurkov said political decisions in Jerusalem are preventing progress. She argued that Israel has repeatedly won tactical victories in Syria but has failed to convert them into long-term political gains. What Israel needs, she said, is a coherent strategy that supports a stable Syrian state capable of controlling its borders, curbing Iranian influence, preventing Hezbollah smuggling routes, and steering Syria closer to Sunni-Arab, pro-US nations. Without a clear vision, she warned, Israel risks creating a new front in Syria at a moment when regional tensions are already at their peak.
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